Several disc shaped flying toys have been previously proposed as described, for example, in the following patents: Des. 329,121; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,516,947; 3,359,678; 3,571,811; 4,212,131; and 4,378,653.
Flying toys of this kind have two general purposes; the entertainment of people and dogs, and to serve as an advertising medium. However, in manufacturing prior products of this kind, certain problems were encountered. The products were difficult to stack so that when put on top of one another for placement in boxes they did not form a stable stack. This made handling and packaging difficult and reduced the number of discs that could be placed in each box. In addition, when the discs were hot following removal from the forming dies, they were subject to distortion or warpage. Prior to developing the present invention, several flat tables were tried to support the hot discs just removed from molding dies in an attempt to allow them to harden without distortion. Placing them on the tables was time consuming and labor intensive. Advertising material printed on prior discs was also often of non-uniform or of uneven quality due to the surface distortion previously encountered.
In view of these and other deficiencies of the prior art, it is one object of the present invention to provide a flying disc toy of the type described that can be made dimensionally distortion free to thereby enhance flight characteristics and prevent printing problems.
Another object is to provide a flying disc toy having a distortion resistant feature for stabilizing the dimensions of the toy while at the same time maintaining or enhancing its aerodynamic flight characteristics.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flying disc toy that has a substantially uniform cross-sectional thickness throughout without enlarged or thickened portions which require additional resin.
Another object is to find a way to enable a toy of the type described to be removed from molds in a hot condition and be self-regulating with respect to maintaining dimensions and preventing distortion during the cooling process.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved flying disc toy that requires no supporting fixtures during the cooling step after being withdrawn from molding dies and wherein a smaller carton than previously required can be used for the same number of discs.
These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following Figures and detailed description which illustrate by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.